Refinishing Checkered Stock

[chad1043]

I have refinished plain stocks. But how does one refinish checkered stocks. Hers is what I think I should do...

1. use a varnish stripper and blot off all the old varnish. use a pad to scrub off the rest.

2. steam the stock to lift the dents and scratches out.

3. LIGHTLY sand the stock (not the checkering).

4. Start the Tur-Oil system to finsh her out...

Am I missing anything?

Chad

 

[Chawbaccer]

Be careful with the checkering not to knock the points off. A tooth brush is good for scrubbing. If the checkering is worn it might be worth the trouble to have it touched up, you can get a cutter to do it yourself. I think I would do the checkering and have it oiled and then masked off before refinishing the rest.

 

[LHB1]

Chad,
You are on the right track. I have refinished many checkered stocks, including a pair of Browning Citori Lightning O/U's in grades III and VI. One way is to use varnish remover and old toothbrush to remove old finish in checkering, cover the checkering with masking tape while sanding and finishing stock, then brush TruOil thinned with turpentine into checkering using another old toothbrush.
If you can't remove old finish from checkering with varnish remover, you can cover checkering with masking tape, sand and finish stock, then refresh checkering with checkering riffler before brushing thinned TruOil into recut checkering. Experience has taught me that I can NOT cut new checkering without ruining it!! But I can refresh existing checkering using Brownell checkering riffler and the results are as good as original checkering and sometimes better. Take a close look at your checkering and you may see flaws near the edges, corners, etc. These can be difficult to correct. Good luck.

Good shooting and be safe.
LB